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Howdy, Modi!Prime Minister Narendra Modi

How Does the BJP Win Elections?

Posted on 5 June 20255 June 2025 by Sanjit Raghavan

In the kaleidoscope of India’s democracy, where nearly a billion voters wield the power to shape the nation’s destiny, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has carved out an extraordinary saga of dominance since 2014. Under the stewardship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the strategic genius of party president Amit Shah, the BJP has transformed from a modest outfit into a political juggernaut, securing landslide victories in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections and holding strong in 2024 with 240 seats, leaning on its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to govern.

How does a party, rooted in the once-fringe ideology of Hindu nationalism, rise to command the loyalty of millions and redefine India’s electoral landscape? This investigative journey unravels the BJP’s success through a tapestry of ideological fervor, organizational discipline, digital wizardry, and pragmatic alliances, grounded in verified anecdotes, facts, and data.

The story begins with the BJP’s ideological moorings, tethered to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization founded in 1925. The RSS, with its vision of Hindutva—an India unified by Hindu cultural values—has been the BJP’s backbone, providing a disciplined cadre through thousands of shakhas across the country. Political scientist Vinay Sitapati, in his book Jugalbandi: The BJP Before Modi, describes the RSS as the party’s “secret sauce,” its unwavering focus on unity shielding the BJP from the factionalism that has fractured rivals like the Indian National Congress.

The BJP, born in 1980 from the ashes of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the Janata Party coalition, initially struggled, winning a mere two seats in the 1984 elections. But the late 1980s marked a turning point with the Ayodhya movement, a campaign to build a Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid. This emotive issue galvanized India’s Hindu majority, who make up over 80% of the population, propelling the BJP to 120 seats in 1991. The movement was not just a religious crusade but a political masterstroke, tapping into deep-seated cultural sentiments to expand the party’s footprint.

Consider the 1990 Ram Rath Yatra, led by L.K. Advani, a defining moment in the BJP’s ascent. Advani’s chariot journey across India, flanked by RSS volunteers and kar sevaks, ignited Hindu nationalist fervor. Despite his arrest in Bihar by then-Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, the yatra’s imagery—saffron flags, devotional chants—electrified voters, as reported by India Today. The BJP’s ability to harness such cultural currents, blending them with anti-Congress sentiment, set the stage for its later dominance, proving that ideology, when paired with grassroots mobilization, can reshape electoral fortunes.

The Modi-Shah era, beginning in 2014, married charisma with strategy in a potent alchemy. Narendra Modi, a former RSS pracharak and Gujarat’s Chief Minister from 2001 to 2014, brought a compelling narrative: replicate Gujarat’s economic success nationally. His tenure in Gujarat, marked by double-digit growth and investor-friendly policies, contrasted sharply with the Congress-led UPA’s “policy paralysis,” mired in corruption scandals like the 2G scam.

Modi’s humble origins as a tea seller’s son from a backward caste resonated with India’s aspirational youth and urban middle class, who saw in him a decisive leader. Amit Shah, often dubbed the BJP’s “Chanakya,” turned the party into a data-driven war machine. As party president since 2014, Shah oversaw a membership drive that swelled the BJP’s ranks to over 170 million by 2022, making it one of the world’s largest political parties, per the party’s own records. A controversial 2024 membership campaign in Gujarat, reported by The Indian Express, saw allegations of coercive tactics, including enrolling schoolchildren, underscoring Shah’s relentless pursuit of organizational expansion.

The 2014 election, where the BJP secured 282 seats for the first single-party majority since 1984, showcased Shah’s micro-management. His strategy of appointing panna pramukhs—workers tasked with managing voter lists at the booth level—ensured precise targeting. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP’s tally soared from 10 seats in 2009 to 71 in 2014, consolidating non-Yadav OBC and upper-caste votes, as analyzed by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS).

By 2019, the party won 303 seats, riding Modi’s post-Balakot airstrike popularity and Shah’s booth-level precision. A BJP worker in Varanasi, interviewed by The Hindu in 2019, revealed how Shah’s team used voter data to sway undecided voters with tailored promises, like access to government schemes. Modi’s landslide victory in Varanasi, with a margin of over 4.7 lakh votes, exemplified this blend of charisma and strategy.

The BJP’s digital prowess, particularly its mastery of WhatsApp, has revolutionized political campaigning in India. With over 400 million users, WhatsApp is a lifeline to both urban and rural voters. A 2024 investigation by Rest of World and Princeton’s Digital Witness Lab dissected the BJP’s “WhatsApp machine” in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, revealing a network of thousands of groups where admins broadcast messages blending development rhetoric, Hindu nationalist appeals, and, at times, disinformation.

The 2024 Ram Mandir inauguration, following the Supreme Court’s 2019 verdict, was a digital goldmine, with videos flooding WhatsApp groups, framing Modi as the architect of a Hindu cultural renaissance. Kiran Garimella of Rutgers University noted that WhatsApp’s penetration into remote areas gives the BJP an edge over rivals reliant on traditional media. In Mandi, a BJP group shared a video falsely claiming opposition leaders opposed the temple, swaying local voters, as a party worker defended to Rest of World as “motivational” messaging. This digital strategy, while effective, has drawn criticism for amplifying divisive narratives, particularly against minorities.

Yet, the BJP’s Hindu nationalist rhetoric has been a double-edged sword. Its focus on issues like the Ram Mandir and the revocation of Article 370, which stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, has solidified its Hindu voter base but alienated minorities, particularly Muslims, who face increasing marginalization.

The 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, linked to BJP-affiliated groups, remains a flashpoint, with the 2024 temple inauguration reigniting debates. Protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens highlighted fears of exclusion, with critics arguing these policies undermine India’s secular fabric. A 2020 BBC report noted that the BJP’s rhetoric often frames Muslims as outsiders, a narrative that resonates with its core voters but risks long-term social cohesion.

The BJP’s financial muscle is another pillar of its success. The party’s reliance on “opaque funding,” including electoral bonds, has drawn scrutiny. A 2020 BBC analysis revealed that the BJP’s campaign spending dwarfed rivals, with over ₹27,000 crore spent in 2019 compared to the Congress’s ₹8,000 crore, per the Association for Democratic Reforms.

This financial edge, fueled by corporate donations and bonds later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2024, enabled lavish campaigns, from high-tech rallies to saturation advertising. Critics also point to media bias, with mainstream outlets often amplifying the BJP’s narrative. A 2024 incident in Kolkata, where an influencer was arrested for sharing a communal video, sparked accusations of the BJP using state machinery to silence dissent, though the party defended it as “lawful” action, per The Times of India.

The BJP’s pragmatic alliances through the NDA have been crucial to its victories. In 2024, despite falling short of a majority with 240 seats, the party relied on partners like Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party to govern, per Election Commission data. The BJP’s expansion into the Northeast, through the North-East Democratic Alliance, turned states like Assam and Tripura into strongholds.

In Assam, the BJP’s anti-immigration rhetoric and the CAA resonated with local fears, securing 9 of 14 seats in 2019, as reported by Business Standard. A 2019 campaign in Assam saw BJP workers promise protection from “illegal migrants,” aligning with RSS-backed grassroots efforts. The party’s outreach to lower castes, with leaders like Modi (OBC) and Jagat Prakash Nadda (from Himachal Pradesh), has broadened its appeal, though critics argue this is tokenism to mask a majoritarian agenda.

Governance has been a cornerstone of the BJP’s appeal. Initiatives like Make in India, Digital India, and Swachh Bharat have resonated with urban and aspirational voters, projecting Modi as a reformer. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, benefiting over 10 crore families by 2024, became a rural campaign staple. National security, particularly the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, bolstered Modi’s “strongman” image, with 67% of voters citing leadership as a key factor in 2019, per CSDS surveys.

Yet, economic challenges—unemployment at 8.5% in 2023, per CMIE data—have dented this narrative. The 2020-21 farm law protests alienated Punjab and Haryana farmers, costing seats in 2024. A Uttar Pradesh farmer, interviewed by The Indian Express in 2019, credited the BJP for the Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme’s ₹6,000 annual payout but, by 2024, expressed frustration over unfulfilled job promises, reflecting the party’s challenge in sustaining rural support.

The BJP’s success is a multifaceted machine, blending ideology, organization, and innovation. The RSS’s grassroots network provides unmatched manpower, while Modi’s charisma and Shah’s micro-management turn voters into loyalists. WhatsApp and media amplify the party’s narrative, often polarizing but effective. Alliances and inclusive outreach expand its reach, even as controversies over communalism and funding spark debate. Governance achievements, though mixed, bolster its appeal among aspirational voters.

Yet, the 2024 elections, where the BJP fell short of a majority, signal vulnerabilities in states like Punjab and West Bengal, where regional parties and economic discontent held sway. As India’s political landscape evolves, the BJP’s ability to balance Hindutva with development, manage alliances, and address economic woes will determine its future. For now, it remains a formidable force, redefining Indian politics through ambition, strategy, and an unrelenting drive to win.

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